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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Economy, Bailouts

The Congress should immediately stop interfering with the internal commerce functions of the States. Additionally the Congress should pass an amendment, and send it out to the States for Ratification, overruling the Supreme Courts interpretations of the Commerce Clause. Additionally, the Congress should immediately stop all expenditures for private company bailouts and allow defunct corporations, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to fail. There is convincing evidence that the current financial and economic crisis was caused by the socialist manipulation of these two entities by key Congressional Regulatory and oversight bodies. Independent Counsels should be appointed to investigate these allegations immediately. The specter of failure is what keeps companies honest and encourages them to make good decisions.

The only powers the Constitution gives the Congress to regulate the economy is the Congress’ power over Duties, Imposts, Excises, and regulating commerce with Foreign Nations, Indian Tribes, and among the several States. This last is important because the Federal Government was to be an arbiter between the States regarding commerce to ensure that they dealt fairly with one another and that actions by any one State would not be allowed to disturb the economies of the others or the Country as a whole. The text does not facially allow the Congress to meddle in the internal commercial affairs of a Sovereign State. The Supreme Court has disagreed with this assessment and has, for a long time, given Congress over-wide latitude in the use of the Commerce Clause as a regulatory instrument upon the States. The Congress may override the Supreme Court’s extension of this super-constitutional power with the passage of an amendment that requires a return to the original intent of the Commerce Clause.

That being said, and preserving liberty being one of the primary functions of government, it does however fall to the government to ensure that the free market remain protected. This is because free markets are required for liberty to exist and flourish. Liberty requires that citizens be able to make the choices that are best for them and free markets allow them to make those choices. Therefore, the Congress should actively prevent the formation of monopolies, cartels, oligarchies, and other market manipulations. This regulatory function is contained within the Commerce Clause, but our Congress has been neglectful enforcing it of late. Giant corporations have been, and still are, allowed to form through mergers and acquisitions, which have resulted in the current climate of “companies that are too big to fail.” Through anti-trust regulation, and for the preservation of liberty through the protection of free markets, no company should ever be allowed to become “too big to fail.” Lastly, it should be self-evident that bailing out private companies with taxpayer Money is not an expenditure for the general Welfare.